Fade to Black
by Carrie6
Summary: Post "the telling" Chapter 2 up...vaughn starts to explain what happened...S/V...please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Fade to Black

Author: Carrie

Rating: PG/PG-13

Summary: Post season finale "The Telling." My take on what happens.  Going to be a short series (hopefully).  

~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~

Vaughn slowly creaked open the door, not knowing what to expect.  Almost immediately, she was in his arms.  Sydney was in his arms, shaking, crying, holding onto him for dear life.  He didn't know how to deal with this, but he knew that if he didn't do it soon, he'd lose his nerve.  He pulled away from her a little, and she immediately began speaking. 

"They doubled Francie." She said quickly.

"I know." He replied, looking at the floor.

"What happened to Will? To Francie? Are they dead?" she asked, her questions coming like rapid fire.

"Will's okay," Vaughn answered.

"What? How?" she asked.  He could read the confusion on her face, and knew that she had no idea what had happened.

"You—" He paused. "Sit down," he suggested softly.  She sat down on the bed, and he sat opposite from her.  He just stared at her, not knowing what to make of this situation.  Not knowing if she was real, what had happened to her, or how to tell her everything he had to.  

His intense stare was starting to irk her. "Vaughn?" she asked hesitantly.  

"We thought you were dead," he said.  She could tell that he was starting to lose his well-practiced composure. "They asked me to come back to…to explain." 

"Come back from what? What are you talking about?" she asked.  She was so confused and just wanted a straight answer.  Vaughn brought his hand up to his forehead rubbed it, before bringing it down again.  She saw it immediately.  The ring.  Just seeing it made her heart plummet into her stomach. "Vaughn…why are you wearing that ring?" she asked, terrified of the answer.

Vaughn could barely register what she was talking about.  He realized that he'd been so stunned that he'd forgotten to take the ring off.  He decided that he didn't want to get into that now, didn't want to explain.  "Syd, since that night…you were missing…" Vaughn's eyes began to burn as he dredged up that memory.  He could feel his eyes fill with water and his vision go blurry.  He hated the shake that was in his voice.  He willed himself to continue and look up at her. "You've been missing for almost two years." He finished. He looked back down at his feet, not able to bear the look on her face.  

She was shocked.  Utterly and completely dumbfounded.  Two years.  Two years of her life gone, and she didn't even remember.  "Two years?" she asked, barely above a whisper.  Vaughn nodded, still looking at his feet.  So many questions were running through her head.  Where has she been? How did Will live? Where is her mother? Sloane? Where did Vaughn come back from? How is he married? The last one stuck out particularly in her mind.  She couldn't bear to be around him anymore.  She needed him gone.

"I want to be alone right now." She said harshly.

"What? No, Syd, I think we should talk." He said.  He needed to explain, as hard as that may be.

 "Please, Vaughn, leave me alone." She begged.  The pain in her voice destroyed him, and he solemnly walked out of the room.  

As soon as the door shut, Sydney fell to the floor, unable to control her sobs.  'This isn't happening,' she kept telling herself. 'It can't be true.'  

She thought back to everything she could remember before she woke up in Hong Kong.  She remembered shooting 'Francie,' fighting her, finding Will in the bathtub.  She remembered her last words to her mother on the roof of the building in Mexico.

_"Get off the ledge!" Sydney shouted._

_"I'll tell you what you need to know." Irina responded._

_"Get off the ledge now!" Sydney said more forcefully._

_"Sloane believes that he's been chosen to realize the word of Rambaldi.  But you too have been chosen." Her mother said, a crazed look to her._

_"If you think I'm bluffing…" Sydney warned._

"It's you in the prophesy Sydney, not me. Only you can stop him.  Good Luck sweetheart." Irina said.

_"Get down now!" Sydney said again._

_"I love you." Those were Irina's last words before jumping off the building._

She couldn't believe that that had been two years ago.  It seemed like only a few days ago.  She remembered getting the message from Will, telling her that Francie was a double. __

"Sydney, it's me.  Listen, this is going to sound insane, but just listen.  I just found Provacillium in the bathroom and I think that—I think that—Just think about it.  I think that the double is Franc--." 

Sydney felt tears form in her eyes as she thought about her last conversation with Vaughn.

_"So I did it." He said._

_"Did what?" _

_"I booked the hotel." He said smiling._

_"No you didn't."_

_"Yes I did."_

_"Santa Barbara?" she asked._

_"Three nights, starting tonight. I mean it was probably the greatest phone call I ever made." He said._

_"You're a genius." She said, leaning over to kiss him._

_"Thank you." He said before capturing her mouth in a kiss._

_"So after the debrief, I'll come pick you up." _

_"Okay." She was all smiles as she walked out of the car. _

Sydney wondered when Vaughn came back to pick her up, and what he found when he got there.  

She was exhausted just from thinking about all these things. Before she knew it, her world faded to black again.  

~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~

Sydney awoke to a soft knocking on her door.  She sat up slowly from her position on the floor and took a moment to assess her surroundings.  All of the sudden all of the events from the night before hit her like a truck.  She could barely breathe as she stood up, choking on her own air.  She opened the door and saw the same man that had escorted her to her room the night before.  

"Yes?" she asked, her voice hoarse from crying.

"Mr. Tippen is here to see you," the man said.

Sydney perked up immediately.  "Thank you," she said, "please send him in." The man nodded and took a few steps down the hall.  Sydney peered around the corner and saw the man motioning for Will to go into the room.  A few feet behind them, Sydney saw Vaughn sitting in a chair against the far wall.  He began to turn his head toward her direction and Sydney quickly ducked back inside the room, still not ready to deal with him.  She sat back down on her bed and waited for Will.  

He entered the room slowly, much as Vaughn had, and Sydney immediately ran into his arms, hoping that he still didn't think that she'd ruined his life.  She was relieved when she felt his arms go around her back and envelope her in a hug.

"I can't believe you're real." He said softly, still holding her.

She pulled back from their hug and looked at him.  "How did you—? I thought you were dead."  She said. 

"We all thought you were dead too," he said, then reverting back to her question, he replied, "I don't really know what happened that night.  It's all so blurry now.  After I called you, I stepped out of the bathroom and Francie—Allison—attacked me.  She stabbed me.  When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed.  Apparently Vaughn came in and found me and took me to the hospital." Will said.  He could see the question in her eyes.  "You weren't there when he came." Will answered, looking down.

"What's happened the last two years.  To you, to my mom, my dad, Sloane…" she trailed off.  

"Vaughn?" Will asked.

"I already know what I need to know about that." She answered harshly, not sure where all the anger was coming from.

Will maneuvered her over to the bed and sat her down.  "I don't think you do." Will told her.  "And I think you should be talking to him right now."  

Sydney began to protest, but Will cut her off.  "Please." Will asked.  Sydney reluctantly nodded. 

"Okay." She replied.

~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~

Okay, let me know what you think (please).  I've got a lot of (hopefully) good ideas coming, so I hope I'll be able to get them out there.  I know this was kind of a nothing chapter, really just recap, but I felt I kind of had to establish how everyone was feeling…hope you all didn't mind.  Thanks for reading and please review! - Carrie


	2. Chapter 2

Recap:

"Vaughn?" Will asked.

"I already know what I need to know about that." She answered harshly, not sure where all the anger was coming from.

Will maneuvered her over to the bed and sat her down.  "I don't think you do." Will told her.  "And I think you should be talking to him right now."  

Sydney began to protest, but Will cut her off.  "Please." Will asked.  Sydney reluctantly nodded. 

"Okay." She replied.

~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~

Will left the room to go get Vaughn.  Sydney didn't know why Will was so intent on her talking to Vaughn, but she'd agreed anyway, maybe she'd finally get some answers.

Vaughn came to the door and slowly pushed it open.  He walked in hesitantly, and resumed the position that he'd been in earlier. He attempted a slight smile, but Sydney immediately looked to his left hand.  She was surprised to see that he wasn't wearing the ring anymore.

"Where's your ring?" she asked, her tone biting.  Vaughn's face fell.  Sydney immediately regretted her words.  "I'm sorry, I have no right to ask that," she apologized, looking down.

"Yes you do," he replied softly. He reached into his pocket and procured the ring.  "It's not real." He said, taking her hand and placing the ring into it.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"It's not real.  I don't have a wife" He clarified.

"Then why…?" she trailed off.

"I think I should start from the beginning," he said.  He made a big sigh and then started to put himself back in the state of mind of that night.

~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~

The debrief had actually been pretty quick. It didn't matter though, he still sped the entire way home.  He couldn't believe that they were actually going on a vacation.  He could just imagine her packing right now.  As he pulled up to her apartment, an unsettling feeling began in his stomach.  He chalked it up to a nervous excitement and walked up to her door.  He knocked and waited for the door to open.  He had expected her to come running out of the door and flash that amazing smile of hers, ready to start their weekend together, but she didn't.  He knocked again and called out to her.  "Syd?" he shouted at the door. He tried the handle, but it was locked.  He had it picked and open in seconds.  He entered the apartment, calling her name again.  "Syd? Sydney?" he called out.  He looked around the apartment and felt his throat constrict and his heartbeat speed up.  The place was in ruins. A pillar was broken and the glass table was smashed.  "Sydney!" he called louder, praying to God that she was okay. He looked into the kitchen and saw the shattered glass from the cabinet, the blood.  He started to run into different rooms of the apartment.  He ran into the bathroom and his breath caught when he saw Will, bloody and lifeless, in the bathtub.  He put the back of his hand up to Will's nose and didn't feel any air.  He placed his fingers on Will's throat and felt for a pulse.  It was slow and faint, but present.  Vaughn immediately pulled out his cell phone and called Base Ops.  

"This is agent Vaughn.  I need to speak to Kendall." He shouted to the receptionist.  He didn't have to wait long before Kendall picked up.

"Kendall." 

"There's been a breech at Sydney Bristow's.  Send a team and medical now." Vaughn  barked into the phone and hung up before he could get a response. He shoved his phone back into his pocket. 

He took off to search the rest of the apartment. "Sydney!" he called out frantically.  He ran into her bedroom and found Francie on the floor, surrounded by the shards of glass from the broken door.  She was in a large pool of blood and there were three bullet holes in her.  Vaughn felt for a pulse, but she was gone. 

Vaughn searched all of the remaining rooms of the house, closets, cabinets, everywhere.  Sydney was gone.  He moved back into the bedroom and sat down on her bed.  What had happened here? He asked himself.  He looked around her room and over to the corner to 'his drawer.' Next to it, her full length mirror was broken and there was blood mixed in with the crushed glass. Next to it, against the wall, there was a puddle of blood on the floor. He knew that Sydney had been there, he could just tell.  But where was she now?  

He dropped his head into his hands.  He had no idea what had happened here, or where she was, or even if she was alive or dead.  How had everything gone wrong so quickly? He wondered.  When the team burst in, he was still in shock and couldn't move. 

Weiss came into the bedroom. "What happened here?" he asked quietly, surveying the room.

"I…I don't know." Vaughn said numbly. "She's gone." He told Weiss, looking up at him. "She's just…gone." 

"It'll be okay man, we'll find her." Weiss attempted to reassure him, placing a hand on his shoulder.  Vaughn just nodded, and Weiss left the room.

Vaughn took a deep breath and got up from the bed.  He walked into the hallway and saw the medical team wheeling Will out of the bathroom on a stretcher.  Two men pushed passed him into the bedroom to tend to Francie. 

Kendall walked in the door and immediately started demanding answers.  "What the hell happened here?" he shouted, looking pointedly at Vaughn.  "Did you see any of this?" he questioned.

Vaughn shook his head. "No, this is how I found it." Vaughn told him. Kendall scowled, but nodded.

"Fine.  You go with Tippen and question him the minute he wakes up—if he does at all."

"What? No! We have to start looking for Sydney!" Vaughn protested.

"Fine.  Have any leads?" Kendall challenged. Vaughn looked around the apartment again and then back to Kendall.  "That's what I thought. Go." He ordered.

Vaughn studied the apartment one last time, looking for anything that could help, before quickly exiting to catch Will's ambulance.      

~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~

Almost eight hours later, Will woke up to the sounds of beeping machines and respirators.  He opened his eyes to see Vaughn staring down at him.

"Hey." He said hoarsely.

Vaughn tried to muster a smile. "Hi.  How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Not so great." Will said.  "What happened?" he asked.

Vaughn looked down at his hands. "I came to pick Syd up last night, and I found you in the bathtub.  You'd been stabbed," he said. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Will closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember.  "I was looking for aspirin…in the bathroom. And I found…Provacillium in Francie's things." Will closed his eyes again, trying to remember what he did next. "God, it's all so fuzzy," he said, frustrated. "I called Syd." He suddenly remembered.  "I called her and told her that I thought Francie was the double all along.  When I came out of the bathroom, she attacked me—"

"Francie?" Vaughn cut in.

"Yeah.  And I tried to fight her off, but she stabbed me." Will said. 

"Do you remember anything else? About Sydney?" Vaughn asked desperately.

"What about Sydney? Is she okay," Will asked, worried.

"We don't know. Will, do you remember anything else? Anything at all?"

"No…no. I remember being dragged.  By Francie—Allison.  Her name's Allison! I was looking at A.G. Doren's file when I left the room.  She must have seen it and known I was onto her." Will said.

"How do you know her name?" Vaughn asked.

"The double's DNA, that Syd's mom gave us—it was from AG Doren.  I recognized the name from one of the project Christmas kids.  She was in it." Will said.

Vaughn nodded. "Okay, this is good.  Thanks." Vaughn said, and stood up to leave.

"What about Syd? Where is she?" Will asked. "And Francie?"

"We don't know.  About either of them.  We're guessing that Sydney and Allison got into a fight.  Allison is dead, but when we got there, Sydney was gone." Vaughn said, feeling a lump gather in his throat.

Will was shocked. "Oh," was all he could say.

"Listen," Vaughn said, "I've got to go, but I'll be back.  I'll keep you updated, you just get better." Vaughn said.

"Okay." Will replied as Vaughn exited the room.

As soon as Vaughn was out of the room, he collapsed onto a bench next to the door.  He let his head fall into his hands and tried to control his breathing.  Someone cleared his throat and Vaughn looked up to see Jack Bristow standing in front of him.  Vaughn rose and took a step towards him.

"Is Tippen awake?" he asked.

"Yes. He just woke up." Vaughn said.  "He said that Francie is AG Doren. He found Provacillium in her things and tried to warn Sydney, but Allison stabbed him. He doesn't remember anything beyond that." Vaughn told him.

Jack just absorbed this information.  "That's a start.  At least we know who the attacker was."

"But we still don't know where Sydney is! Or if she's even alive!" Vaughn shouted at Jack. He couldn't understand how he was so unemotional about the disappearance of his daughter. 

Jack's eyes flared. "Agent Vaughn, although I appreciate your dedication to finding **my** daughter, you still have no right to speak to me like that. I advise you think before you speak," Jack admonished.

Vaughn just stared at him before turning and walking away. He wasn't really sure where he was going until he found himself flashing his ID to the man guarding Sark's cell.  Vaughn approached the glass and waited for Sark to come to him.  

Sark was leaning against the wall, looking out the small window.  When Vaughn came in, he walked up to the glass.

"Mr. Vaughn. It's nice to see you again.  Especially in a position where you can't break my nose." Sark commented.

"Where are they?" Vaughn demanded.

"Who?" Sark asked a sparkle coming to his eye.

"Irina, Sloane, Sydney," Vaughn told him, his voice shaking on the last name. 

"What is it, you've lost your girlfriend?" Sark quipped.

Vaughn banged the heel of his hand against the glass, startling Sark. "Where the hell is she?" he shouted, then lowered his voice. "I know you had something to do with this. I know you know where she is." Vaughn said threateningly. 

"I don't know anything about her. If you haven't noticed, I've been in a cell for quite some time now." Sark replied.

Vaughn was losing patience.  "I will find her." Vaughn said with new resolve. 

"Good luck to you.  I'd like to see Sydney again, but I don't know how to find her." Sark said.

"What if I told you that I had information about your little experiment with genetics?" Vaughn offered. 

            Sark's eyes changed suddenly from malevolent to worry. It was very quick, but Vaughn caught it. "So I see you've met Allison," Sark said. 

            "You could say that," Vaughn countered. 

            "It's of no matter to me.  We knew you'd figure it out sooner or later." Sark replied, but his voice didn't carry the same maliciousness as it had moments before. 

Vaughn didn't respond, he just turned and signaled to the guard to raise the gates. He didn't know how he was going to use the small piece of information Sark had just unknowingly given him, but he knew that he had made a minuscule step on the path to Sydney, even if it was just figuring out a weakness of the enemy. 

~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~__~~**~~

Thanks so much for all of your reviews! I can't believe the overwhelming response I've had to this story.  I hope that you liked this chapter; it was kind of hard to figure out how to do the flash back thing…I'm going to try to do little recaps at the beginning of each chapter.  I know that there are a lot of stories out there and a lot of times I find myself having to go back and read all the previous chapters of a fic every time I go to read a new chapter…I hope that they're helpful. 

Please read and review, I really appreciate any and all comments or suggestions! If you like it, let me know. If you think it sucks, tell me so I can make it better! Thanks for reading!

-Carrie 


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